PALM BEACH GARDENS – The Dwyer Panthers have a star in the making who can get things done on the field.
Meet Corrado Desantis, who is listed at 6-foot and 183 pounds as a defensive back. He has a nice combination of speed and size that shows us when it matters most.
Also, as an individual who conditions himself relatively well, Desantis is a versatile defensive back who can move around the field a lot from free safety to weak to corner.
In short, Desantis can do it all.
We got to see some of that in his junior season, when be recorded the following statistics in 11 games played:
•25 tackles
•3 tackles for loss
•2 sacks
•1 interception
•1 fumble recovery
•9 pass deflections
The best individual game for Desantis came in Week 11 against Palm Beach Lakes, when he recorded the following statistics:
•5 tackles
•1 interceptions
Desantis reflected on how this past year went for him at Dwyer.
“My junior season was definitely a great season,” he said. “I learned a lot and was in the meantime of learning how to be the next leader on our defense and secondary. There were a lot of games where the secondary was locking up the pass game, so a lot of our time on the field were just running plays from a lot of the teams we faced.”
This success has parlayed into an offer from Fordham, which Desantis earned on May 26. It also led to a Fordham visit that took place on July 2.
After a great conversation with @OL_Coach_Giufre I am BEYOND blessed to receive my first D1 offer from Fordham University🙏🏽🙏🏽 @Coach_Conlin @DwyerHSFootball @Snausy54 @CoachAlShipman @CoachRayG pic.twitter.com/6Vq2JVa0PG
— Corrado DeSantis (@CorradoD_23) May 26, 2023
Had a great visit last weekend in the Bronx @FORDHAMFOOTBALL. Thank you @RFReichert and @OL_Coach_Giufre for providing amazing hospitality and making us feel at home. @StephenDeSant12 @CoachAlShipman @DwyerHSFootball @Coach_Conlin pic.twitter.com/M0Gajyi6nO
— Corrado DeSantis (@CorradoD_23) July 2, 2023
Desantis reflected on these two breakthrough moments.
“Fordham was awesome,” he said. “The campus was beautiful and it was great meeting and spending time with most of the coaches. They are definitely going in the right direction as a football program and have great academics to offer as well. I was so stoked to have Fordham as my first offer.”
With that said, Desantis spent this past summer offseason in a variety of workouts, camps, and 7-on-7 tournaments to keep himself fresh and allow himself to get better at his craft.
Here are the camps and 7-on-7 tournaments that Desantis participated in:
•USF Mega Camp
•UF Camp
•UCF Camp
•FSU Camp
•Holy Cross Camp
•Keiser 7-on-7 Tournament
•Penn State Wrestling Camp
Here is a look at four of the seven camps that Desantis participated in:
Got good work in today at FSU Mega Camp🙏🏽 @StephenDeSant12 @CoachAlShipman @DwyerHSFootball @Isaiah10Lee @FSUFootball pic.twitter.com/XfpTTcolin
— Corrado DeSantis (@CorradoD_23) June 11, 2023
Got some good work in today at UF camp, and took away valuable technique🙏🏽🐊🐊 @CoachAlShipman @Snausy54 @DwyerHSFootball @GatorsFB @StephenDeSant12 @Isaiah10Lee pic.twitter.com/GGxULxVqEH
— Corrado DeSantis (@CorradoD_23) June 13, 2023
4/4 camps done within a week✅✅, but had a great time at the UCF camp yesterday and took away good technique⚔️ @UCF_Football @DwyerHSFootball @CoachAlShipman @Snausy54 @Isaiah10Lee @StephenDeSant12 pic.twitter.com/TS0yN0OFHt
— Corrado DeSantis (@CorradoD_23) June 14, 2023
Had a great camp @HCrossFB this past weekend @StephenDeSant12 @CoachAlShipman @Snausy54 pic.twitter.com/Q7WgRVRfFd
— Corrado DeSantis (@CorradoD_23) June 27, 2023
Of the seven camp and tournament outings he attended this summer, Desantis came away with a clear favorite.
“It was either Holy Cross or UF,” he said. “For Holy Cross, It was a different experience than I’m used to. They ran their camp a lot differently. There was a lot of competition and a lot of opportunities to show my athleticism and competitiveness.”
Desantis on how his summer offseason turned out overall:
“It was a lot this summer, but workouts had been good work in getting us ready for the season and working on things so we can prevent injury this season,” he said. “The 7-on-7 has been fun as a defense and has really helped out in communication and fluidity. And I learned a lot of valuable technique from camps that I have started to implement into my craft.”
Corrado Desantis draws his inspiration to play the game of football at a high level from his family. It starts with his younger brother and Dwyer teammate Dante Desantis and extends to his parents, Stephen and Myrian Desantis.
It goes even further than that.
Corrado’s grandfather, Conrad Desantis, played college football in his heyday.
Corrado went on to talk about it.
“My grandpa inspired me to play football,” he said. “He went to UPenn and set multiple records. He could’ve gone to the Oilers (former NFL team) at the time, but pursued his career in law instead. Another reason I started taking football seriously is that my parents don’t have money to send me to college. So with that, I’m working for scholarships on and off the field.”
Corrado even went on to credit the Dwyer coaching staff for his development on the field.
“Coach [Al] Shipman and all the other coaches are great,” he said. “Coach Shipman has been great changing our team around from both sides of the ball, not to mention has helped my recruiting significantly. Coach Jason Aloise is my position coach, and him and all of the other coaches have really put time and effort into teaching me and pushing me to be a leader in the secondary and in the defense. That is something that also goes beyond the fields, which I am very grateful for.”
To sum it all up, Corrado shared his goals for this upcoming fall season at Dwyer.
“I know our goal is to make a run at states and do it with the younger team that we do have,” he said. “And I plan personally on being a leader on our defense and to make a lot of big plays this year.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Cady, Clara Sales, and Fordham Football
